Rachel Lazerus
@rachellazerus.bsky.social
Mom of three and a recovering policy wonk. Openly sincere on main. Definitely sleep-deprived. She/her
Pinned
Rachel Lazerus
@rachellazerus.bsky.social
· Sep 20
Do you actually want me to explain why I think this way, or are you being reflexively defiant at anyone who doesn't agree with your interpretation of the narrative? Because I've got stuff to do today.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
gotta agree with this. at some point we all have to contend with what good faith is actually for and extend it accordingly
A lot of our political discourse would be easier if we didn't extend good faith to people who would never extend it back.
February 7, 2026 at 3:51 PM
gotta agree with this. at some point we all have to contend with what good faith is actually for and extend it accordingly
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
basically if dishonesty is a loadbearing aspect of a discourse feel free to hit the snooze button on your Good Faith module
February 7, 2026 at 3:56 PM
basically if dishonesty is a loadbearing aspect of a discourse feel free to hit the snooze button on your Good Faith module
Dropout is a lot of fun, especially if you like improv/kind people being very funny.
February 8, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Dropout is a lot of fun, especially if you like improv/kind people being very funny.
Not surprised that people on the left appreciate Moscow Mitch!
February 7, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Not surprised that people on the left appreciate Moscow Mitch!
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
LOL.... i wanted to hear JD getting booed at the Olympics and when i searched for it on YouTube i got this
February 7, 2026 at 6:59 AM
LOL.... i wanted to hear JD getting booed at the Olympics and when i searched for it on YouTube i got this
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
The real thing Democrats lack is not a backbone, it's a drone army like the Republicans have.
And the trend goes both ways, by the way.
The US government is telling Americans to hate Europeans and Canadians. And many have dutifully changed their opinions.
The US government is telling Americans to hate Europeans and Canadians. And many have dutifully changed their opinions.
February 6, 2026 at 11:56 PM
The real thing Democrats lack is not a backbone, it's a drone army like the Republicans have.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Thank you for the coverage, @npr.org.
If you, dear reader, would like to help other people observing ICE in Minnesota, please contribute to our dash cam drive - more than a thousand have been distributed so far, and demand remains high: ottergoose.net/dashcam/
If you, dear reader, would like to help other people observing ICE in Minnesota, please contribute to our dash cam drive - more than a thousand have been distributed so far, and demand remains high: ottergoose.net/dashcam/
February 6, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Thank you for the coverage, @npr.org.
If you, dear reader, would like to help other people observing ICE in Minnesota, please contribute to our dash cam drive - more than a thousand have been distributed so far, and demand remains high: ottergoose.net/dashcam/
If you, dear reader, would like to help other people observing ICE in Minnesota, please contribute to our dash cam drive - more than a thousand have been distributed so far, and demand remains high: ottergoose.net/dashcam/
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
Every member of this administration should be booed wherever they go for the rest of their miserable lives. They should never have a moment of peace.
February 6, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Every member of this administration should be booed wherever they go for the rest of their miserable lives. They should never have a moment of peace.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism.
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
February 3, 2026 at 11:28 PM
This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism.
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
My dad made plenty of sexist mistakes with me, but I'm really glad he got me into SFF via Anne McCaffrey and Lois McMaster Bujold (and to never bother with unabridged Heinlein).
February 6, 2026 at 2:02 AM
My dad made plenty of sexist mistakes with me, but I'm really glad he got me into SFF via Anne McCaffrey and Lois McMaster Bujold (and to never bother with unabridged Heinlein).
Yeah, being a 12yo girl and finding Piers Anthony in your middle school library was...not great, man.
February 6, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Yeah, being a 12yo girl and finding Piers Anthony in your middle school library was...not great, man.
I'd love to see one that picks up from where this left off, or even one from then to 2010 and a 2010-25 edition as well -- I know I'm missing pivotal new authors!
February 6, 2026 at 1:53 AM
I'd love to see one that picks up from where this left off, or even one from then to 2010 and a 2010-25 edition as well -- I know I'm missing pivotal new authors!
Better than Port Authority.
Maybe we can get him to request Port Authority.
Maybe we can get him to request Port Authority.
February 6, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Better than Port Authority.
Maybe we can get him to request Port Authority.
Maybe we can get him to request Port Authority.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
I mean, we all know why.
It's still a part of every conversation and every discussion of systemic sexism. But this keeps happening, in every industry, in every setting, and we keep siding with the men. "Oh she was too pretty, she was a temptation." "Oh she made him do it." "Oh she was at fault."
It's still a part of every conversation and every discussion of systemic sexism. But this keeps happening, in every industry, in every setting, and we keep siding with the men. "Oh she was too pretty, she was a temptation." "Oh she made him do it." "Oh she was at fault."
February 5, 2026 at 9:04 PM
I mean, we all know why.
It's still a part of every conversation and every discussion of systemic sexism. But this keeps happening, in every industry, in every setting, and we keep siding with the men. "Oh she was too pretty, she was a temptation." "Oh she made him do it." "Oh she was at fault."
It's still a part of every conversation and every discussion of systemic sexism. But this keeps happening, in every industry, in every setting, and we keep siding with the men. "Oh she was too pretty, she was a temptation." "Oh she made him do it." "Oh she was at fault."
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
It's not just the women and girls we know of. It's all their future work, and everything they could have been, and how we build structures that shelter their abusers. It's how a man's future has always been worth more than my past, present, and future combined.
February 5, 2026 at 9:05 PM
It's not just the women and girls we know of. It's all their future work, and everything they could have been, and how we build structures that shelter their abusers. It's how a man's future has always been worth more than my past, present, and future combined.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
"We would have lost so much if we'd driven him away" is the justification.
But we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?
But we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?
February 5, 2026 at 9:02 PM
"We would have lost so much if we'd driven him away" is the justification.
But we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?
But we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
"I can't mitigate them through more personal effort, education or professional experience."
This is what I am saying about academia! If you are a woman and you "failed" to advance in academia, you actually WERE FAILED.
This is what I am saying about academia! If you are a woman and you "failed" to advance in academia, you actually WERE FAILED.
It's hard, as both a woman and a journalist, to understand both of these things and figure out a path forward. I can't mitigate them through more personal effort, education or professional experience. And it's galling to read the defenses for the layoffs and the people named in the Epstein files.
February 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
"I can't mitigate them through more personal effort, education or professional experience."
This is what I am saying about academia! If you are a woman and you "failed" to advance in academia, you actually WERE FAILED.
This is what I am saying about academia! If you are a woman and you "failed" to advance in academia, you actually WERE FAILED.
It's always Orthodox Jews praising Trump that makes me feel hollowest.
Imcluding the Steve Bannon defender who told me "you know what Trump has and Conservative Jews don't? Jewish grandchildren."
Imcluding the Steve Bannon defender who told me "you know what Trump has and Conservative Jews don't? Jewish grandchildren."
February 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM
It's always Orthodox Jews praising Trump that makes me feel hollowest.
Imcluding the Steve Bannon defender who told me "you know what Trump has and Conservative Jews don't? Jewish grandchildren."
Imcluding the Steve Bannon defender who told me "you know what Trump has and Conservative Jews don't? Jewish grandchildren."
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
probably not great that every natsec-adjacent reporter has spent the last 24 hours going "ron wyden expert here, this is not cute, ron wydens only do this when they're very distressed"
@wyden.senate.gov's record of warning that there is deep and constitutionally-serious dirt being done by the intelligence agencies in secret is unblemished. The vaguer he is, the filthier the dirt is. This is the vaguest I've ever seen him
Ron Wyden Only Talks Like This When The Spies Do Something *Real* Bad
No, I don't know what they did. But I have a lot of experience with the senator
www.forever-wars.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:44 PM
probably not great that every natsec-adjacent reporter has spent the last 24 hours going "ron wyden expert here, this is not cute, ron wydens only do this when they're very distressed"
No, she didn't. She became part of it to advance her own personal brand.
February 5, 2026 at 6:24 PM
No, she didn't. She became part of it to advance her own personal brand.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
It doesn't matter what the women said or did, how educated or successful they are, how faithful she is to her partner, anything. The Epstein files explicitly detail how these men (and their allies) emailed each other for advice and strategy on sex with girls and women, as well as helping each other.
February 5, 2026 at 5:14 PM
It doesn't matter what the women said or did, how educated or successful they are, how faithful she is to her partner, anything. The Epstein files explicitly detail how these men (and their allies) emailed each other for advice and strategy on sex with girls and women, as well as helping each other.
Reposted by Rachel Lazerus
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
February 5, 2026 at 5:05 PM
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
Their inevitable answer
a man and a woman are looking at each other and the man is asking " both "
ALT: a man and a woman are looking at each other and the man is asking " both "
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Their inevitable answer